5 important things happening in the UK today

Here are 5 important things happening in the UK today, Tuesday (4 November 2025).

Reeves to set out pre-budget priorities: Chancellor Rachel Reeves will set out her priorities for the economy in a pre-Budget speech from Downing Street this morning. She is expected to say her 26 November Budget will focus on “fairness and opportunity” to bring down NHS waiting lists, the national debt, and the cost of living. Economists predict Reeves will raise taxes in the Budget – Labour pledged not to hike income tax, VAT, or National Insurance in its general election manifesto. [BBC]

UK records biggest increase in asylum claims in Europe: Britain posted the biggest rise in asylum claims in Europe last year, new figures show, as the number of applications surged to a record high. A total of 108,000 claims were lodged in 2024, reflecting a 28pc jump on the 84,000 recorded in 2023. This increase far outstripped the UK’s peers across the Continent, including France and Germany, where the number of asylum claims actually fell. Last year’s tally was also the highest number of applications on record for the UK, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), eclipsing 103,000 asylum claims lodged in 2002. [Telegraph]

HSBC to offer 6.5 times salary mortgages as lending rules loosen: HSBC is to lend homebuyers up to 6.5 times their salary as banks continue to loosen mortgage lending rules. Larger loans were made available on Monday to those with an HSBC Premier account, which requires a customer to have a £100,000 annual income or £100,000 in savings or investments with the bank, and at least a 10% deposit. HSBC is thought to be the first high street lender to offer more than six times a buyer’s salary since the financial crisis in 2008. In September, the bank increased how much it would lend to first-time buyers to 5.5 times their salary. [The Times]

A third of British farmers made no profit in the past year: A third of British farmers are making a loss or breaking even as they struggle with the loss of subsidies and looming inheritance tax changes, a report on post-Brexit farming has found. Only 14% of farmers surveyed for McCain Foods’ inaugural Farmdex report said they made 10% or more profit in the past year. In fact, many are making no profit at all, with 35% of the farmers reporting making a loss or breaking even. [Guardian]